You Can Do Hard Things

Modern Woman.

Deliberate Woman.

Intentional Woman.

Stand up. Speak up.

Don't give up.

3.946568 billion are depending on you not to give up.

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You can do hard things.

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You are brilliant.

You are creative.

You are a force.

Don’t be afraid to speak your mind.

Don't be afraid to let your voice be heard.

Don't be afraid to take injustice by the horns.

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You can do hard things.

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Modern Woman.

Deliberate Woman.

Intentional Woman.

Stay present.

Be fully present, be vigilant.

Do not be overwhelmed.

Do not let disillusionment have its way.

Do not throw up your hands.

And say "It's no use".

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You can do hard things.

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Trials and tribulations

Must be turned into jubilations

For the women suffering across the world.

New wells of hope must be dug.

To replace the ones that have dried up.

Not just for the women of now

But also for the women of the future.

You must match laughter, scorn, obstruction, setbacks, with even more determination.

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You can do hard things.

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Modern Woman.

Deliberate Woman.

Intentional Woman.

Spit out the bitter taste in your mouth

Bitterness is not an effective tool

Neither is apathy nor fear

Nor doubt

Throw away "Can't" from your book.

It's a word that will undermine you.

Throw it out.

It has no place in your book.

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You can do hard things.

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Because at the end of the day

What you want for women across the world

And for women of the future

Is what you wanted and achieved for yourself...

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For more women to have the opportunity to be…

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Modern Women.

Deliberate Women.

Intentional Women.

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What you want for women across the world

And women of the future

Is what you wanted and achieved for yourself.

For more women to have the opportunity to be...

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Modern Women.

Deliberate Women.

Intentional Women.

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Hold fast to that vision, and act on it, act on it, act on it, act on it, act on it, act on it, act on it, act on it, act on it, act on it; be more modern, more deliberate, more intentional, because nothing less will benefit women of the present, or women of the future. You have to give it your all.

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You can do hard things.

Juneteenth 2022

Sorry is the hardest thing to say

We humans don't have the humility

Throughout history, we humans have been too bold or too proud to admit wrongdoing

And this has accounted for unacknowledged acts of terrible brutality.

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Abuse, cruelty, oppression, marginalization, torture, killing

We've done terrible things to those powerless and without a say

Worse, we've used religion, law, power, tribalism, opportunism, brute force, and false and artificial social divisions and rules

To be callous about the generational suffering caused along the way.

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Juneteenth is here to remind us

Of the terrible things we humans have done to others for pride, for lust, and for gain

Things which no humans on earth should be made to endure

And for which we collectively deserve to hang our heads in shame.

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Dear reader, let's each one of us take a moment on Juneteenth

To say sorry for a past filled with terrible suffering

And to make a personal and collective pledge

To do everything in our power not to repeat any of those things.

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On a personal note,  I would like to say sorry to each and every person to whom I have caused pain, harm, or suffering intentionally and unintentionally, personally or collectively in my life. I am truly sorry.

I Knocked On The Door

I knocked on the door.

Are you Buddhist, Christian, Mohammedan, Hindu, Jew, Zoroastrian, Sikh, Pagan, Atheist, Other, a voice declared.

It's only love I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, trans, a voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you Native American, Asian American, Hispanic, Hispanic Non-White, White, African American, the voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you Republican, Democrat, Green Party, Libertarian, Independent, Tea Party, the voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you diabetic, hypertensive, infectious, contagious, had a cough in the last week, allergic to anything, the voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you business, government, law, military, teaching, medicine, white collar, blue collar, homeless, other, the voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you blue state, red state, swing state, coastal state, mid-west state, southern state, northern state, the voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you Communist, Capitalist, Socialist, Post-Modern, Fascist, Maoist, Anarchist, a voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

Are you Brahmin, Shudra, Vaishya, Kshatriya, the voice declared.

It's only love, I said.

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I knocked on the door.

The door opened and I sped effortlessly through a blazing tunnel of light,  not on my feet, more like a bird as if I had wings.

There was no voice.

I was enveloped in love and light.

And it was as if I had entered a place of continuous daylight and no night.

It's only love, I said.

It's only love, and all love, the voice declared.

Where was I?

And then I realized …

This was the promise

The promise made long ago!

It's only love!

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I was where there was only love

And only light.

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In loving memory of David, and the other members of my family - birth family and earth family - who are on the other side of the door.

Seek Answers Outside Yourself

Seek answers outside yourself

Let your mental view expand

Use solitude and reflection

To help you understand.

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In the silence is the safety

In the silence is the serenity you seek

When you are willing to silence your thoughts, and let the wisdom from outside flow in

This is when meditation, prayer, and grace are free to speak.

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The key to happiness and wisdom 

Lies in enlarging your point of view

And developing the capacity to embrace the old

While learning to accept the new.

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In the silence is the safety

In the silence is the serenity you seek

When you are willing to silence your thoughts, and let the wisdom from outside flow in

This is when meditation, prayer, and grace are free to speak.

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Seek answers outside yourself

Let go of being self-obsessed

The gifts of peace and fulfilment

Have little to do with what status you have achieved, or what you possess.

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In the silence is the safety

In the silence is the serenity you seek

When you are willing to silence your thoughts, and let the wisdom from outside flow in

This is when meditation, prayer, and grace are free to speak.

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Seek answers outside yourself

Leave a sacred space

Stop the flow of thoughts and ideas, no matter how well-developed they are, and how invested you are in them

Make room for meditation, prayer, and grace.

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In the silence is the safety

In the silence is the serenity you seek

When you are willing to silence your thoughts, and let the wisdom from outside flow in

This is when meditation, prayer, and grace are free to speak.